Gov. Larry Hogan Says He's Not Voting for Donald Trump

Annapolis, MD — For months, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has been unenthusiastic about the rise of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

During an appearance Wednesday to talk road construction in Prince George’s County, reporters asked the Republican governor, who had endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie before he dropped out of the Republican primary, if he will now throw his support behind presumptive nominee Trump.

The answer: No.

“No, I don’t plan to,” Hogan told The Washington Post. “I guess when I get behind the curtain I’ll have to figure it out. Maybe write someone in. I’m not sure.”

It was the first time Hogan has said unequivocally that he won’t vote for the New York businessman.

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According to the Maryland Board of Elections, Trump easily won the state’s primary in April with 54 percent of the votes, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 24 percent and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 20 percent.

Hogan did not endorse any of the remaining contenders after Christie ended his presidential run. But Hogan, a Republican whose approval ratings are soaring, has said he does not think Trump should be the party’s nominee. And he’s not a Hillary Clinton fan either.

“I’m not a Trump fan,” Hogan told The Associated Press early in the spring. “I don’t think he should be the nominee.”

Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Charles Conner took the palpable GOP disappointment a step further, calling on Hogan to denounced Trump's comments on race and Muslims.

"Donald Trump today doubled down on his promise to ban Muslims from entering our country. He even claimed President Obama is on the side of terrorists in the war against ISIL," Conner said in a statement. "And he failed a serious leadership test after the tragedy in Orlando. Trump proved yet again that he’s unfit to lead our nation. Not voting for Trump doesn’t go far enough. Marylanders deserve a governor who will speak out forcefully against Trump’s hate and bigotry."

Businessman, radio talk show host and former presidential candidate Herman Cain spoke before Trump at a rally Wednesday in Atlanta and defended his party's nominee.

“Donald Trump is not a racist,” Cain said. “I grew up in the South; I know something about racism, and Donald Trump is not a racist."

Trump told the Atlanta crowd that if some Pulse club patrons in Orlando, Florida had been armed, “what happened last weekend would have been horrible, but not nearly as horrible as it turned out to be."

“Over the last three to four days, people are beginning to realize what’s going on,” Trump said, referring to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. “Things like this will keep happening again and again and again. We are taking in thousands of people into our country; we have no idea who the hell they are; and they believe in things we don’t believe in.”

Hogan and other Maryland politicians are expected to attend the annual state GOP power gathering on July 20 at the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Somerset County.

“With this year’s Republican National Convention set to run July 18 to 21, the crab feast — on July 20 — has the added bonus of providing cover for Republicans who might not want to celebrate the formal nomination of the controversial billionaire,” says The Washington Post.

»Photo from Gov. Larry Hogan's Facebook page